After heartbreaking Madrid Open withdrawal, Carlos Alcaraz meets up with Marc Marquez and enjoys MotoGP action to rejuvenate himself

Carlos Alcaraz graced the MotoGP event at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, meeting up with Marc Marquez. The Spaniard has taken a break from tennis after suffering an injury at the Barcelona Open.

Alcaraz, the four-time Grand Slam champion, was off to a good start in 2025. Despite missing the Australian Open title, he won his career-first indoor hardcourt title at the ABN AMRO Open. He continued his momentum at the Monte-Carlo Open, defeating Lorenzo Musetti to lift the trophy. He then faced a semi-final exit at the Barcelona Open and later confirmed his absence from the Madrid Open due to injuries in both legs.

Enjoying a forced break from tennis, Carlos Alcaraz shifted his attention to watch some motorbike racing action at the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez de la Frontera on Sunday. At the event, he ran into Marc Márquez and posed on his bike, as seen in the latter's Instagram story.

Carlos Alcaraz with Marc Marquez at the Spain Grand Prix; Instagram - @marcmarquez

Carlos Alcaraz came fresh off attending the finals of the Copa del Rey between Real Madrid and Barcelona in Seville. In a recent interview, the 21-year-old revealed that he suffered a left hamstring injury on top of hurting his right abductor muscle, which left his Barcelona Open campaign short.

"During the Barcelona final, I hurt the adductor muscle in my right leg, but I also felt something in the hamstring of my left leg. We've tried everything to improve, but it hasn't been possible. We've discussed with the team whether he could play safely, but we have to listen to our bodies."

Alcaraz earned 18 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including six Masters 1000 titles.

Carlos Alcaraz stays hopeful for title defense at the 2025 French Open

Alcaraz at 2024 French Open - Day 1 - (Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz defeated fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev to win the French Open title in 2024. The victory made him the youngest male player in history to win major titles on three court surfaces. As the French Open is nearing and the Spaniard is recovering from multiple injuries, he expressed anticipation about his stint at the Roland Garros.

"In a week or two I shall return to training, but I will take it step by step. I couldn't practice the entire week. I needed to listen to my body and make the right decision. I don't want to get too far ahead but I hope I shall be ready for the French Open." (via BBC)

He added:

"If I don't play Rome, or if I don't play any tournaments before Roland Garros, I don't care about it. I know what is my level, I know what I have to do to play good tennis."

The Spaniard competed at the Paris Olympics and reached the finals but lost the gold to the legendary Novak Djokovic.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder